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✦ ON PAPER BY DAN MURPHY ing job late last season when veteran Ralph Bolden tore his ACL. Shavers ran for 149 yards on 22 carries at the Little Caesars Bowl last season in his first official start. Sopho- mores Akeem Hunt and Raheem Mostert helped carry the load in last week's season opener against Eastern Kentucky. Notre Dame has much more experience in its front seven. Senior Carlo Calabrese returns to the mix this week after serving his one-game suspension. He and fellow inside linebackers Dan Fox and Manti Te'o helped hold the Boil- PURDUE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Senior running back Akeem Shavers took over the start- ermakers to 84 rushing yards a year ago in a 38-10 victory. Advantage: Notre Dame in its debut against Navy last week, but still gave up 192 yards through the air. The challenge will ramp up against the Boilermakers and their trio of quarterbacks. Purdue lost its top receiver, Justin Siller, from a season PURDUE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Notre Dame's secondary didn't face a real passing threat teams a year ago while averaging 26.14 yards per kick re- turn. Purdue's Mostert led the nation in kick returns with 33.48 yards per attempt and one touchdown. Both sopho- mores will be back on kicks again this season. Both teams struggled on punt returns last year, but Pur- ago, but it has a crew of speedy players to replace him, all of whom are under six feet tall and 190 pounds. Senior Antavian Edison — 44 catches, 584 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2011 — is the offense's most versatile threat and will be quarterback Caleb TerBush's top target. TerBush will start against Notre Dame, but Robert Marve likely earned some playing time after racking up 295 pass- ing yards last week against Eastern Kentucky. Advantage: Even thin linebacker corps. The team's top two tacklers from a year ago, Joe Holland and Dwayne Beckford are both gone. All-American candidate senior Kawann Short will need to provide a lot of help from his spot at defensive tackle. Last year, Purdue finished as the No. 82 rushing defense NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. PURDUE RUN DEFENSE Purdue's biggest weakness on defense this season is a in the country, giving up 174.9 yards per game — with a whopping 287 to Notre Dame. Senior Cierre Wood ran for a career-high 191 yards in that game. He will be serving the back end of his two-game suspension, but his partners Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III should be able to stay fresh enough to attack Purdue's lack of depth. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. PURDUE PASS DEFENSE Senior tight end Tyler Eifert, arguably the best at his position in the country this season, negates a lot of Notre Dame's inexperience at the receiver position and could have a big day against a pair of young Purdue safeties. Those new safeties are flanked by two of the best corner- Senior running back Akeem Shavers carried the ball 11 times for 74 yards and one touchdown in Purdue's 48-6 victory over Eastern Kentucky this past Saturday. PHOTO COURTESY PURDUE backs in the Big Ten. Junior Ricardo Allen and senior Josh Johnson combined for five interceptions and 18 passes broken up last season. They will get help again this season from junior Normondo Harris, who started four games last year. That trio will be Golson's first big test on taking care of the football. Advantage: Purdue SPECIAL TEAMS Atkinson III was Notre Dame's main bright spot on special ✦ PAGE 4 this year thanks to senior Nick Tausch, who despite kick- ing only one field in the last two seasons does have some proven success on Saturdays. He was 15 of 18 in his career heading into this season. The Boilermakers will rely on un- proven freshman Paul Griggs or walk-on Sam McCartney, depending on the situation. Advantage: Even coach on a small upswing. Hope's team won three of its last four games in 2011 to provide their coach with a little bump in job security after two losing seasons. He hired defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar this spring from the Ca- nadian Football League to bring a more traditional 4-3 look to the Boilermakers defense. This might be a make or break year for Hope at Purdue, which is projected as a dark horse candidate to win the Big Ten's Leaders division. Irish head coach Brian Kelly and his staff have gotten the COACHING Danny Hope enters his fourth season as Purdue's head better of Hope and company during each of their first two meetings. Last season, Notre Dame outcoached Purdue as much as it outplayed them in a 38-10 win. A more estab- lished and seemingly tighter-knit staff this season should give the Irish an X's and O's advantage. Advantage: Notre Dame they wouldn't feel the aftereffects of their trip to Dublin and should find some extra energy for its home opener. More importantly, after two convincing wins in the last INTANGIBLES Notre Dame took every possible measure to make sure two years, the Irish enter their game against Purdue ex- pecting to win. That attitude can go a long way in providing a mental leg up on an opponent. Advantage: Notre Dame PREDICTIONS Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 27, Purdue 20 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 31, Purdue 17 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 35, Purdue 28 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 28, Purdue 13 due was statistically better there as well, finishing 88th in the nation compared to Notre Dame's No. 112 ranking. The Irish kicking game balances the special teams battle